Frank Gordon Jr.

Frank X. Gordon Jr. (January 9, 1929 – January 6, 2020) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona[1] from September 16, 1975 to February 3, 1992. He served as Chief Justice[2] from January 1987 to December 1992.[3] Gordon was the first Supreme Court appointment under the new merit selection system, he was appointed by Governor Raul Castro.[4]

Frank Gordon Jr.
Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1987 – January 1, 1992
Preceded by	William A. Holohan
Succeeded by	Stanley G. Feldman
Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
In office September 16, 1975 – January 6, 1992
Appointed by	Raul Castro
Preceded by	Lorna E. Lockwood
Succeeded by	Thomas A. Zlaket
Personal details
Born	(1929-01-09)January 9, 1929 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 6, 2020(2020-01-06) (aged 90) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Joan
Children	three
Alma mater	Stanford University, University of Arizona School of Law

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1929,[5] Gordon received a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1951, and an LL.B. from the University of Arizona School of Law in 1954.

He was an associate with the law firm of Gordon and Gordon in Kingman, Arizona from 1954 to 1962, and became a judge of the Superior Court of Mohave County in 1962. He served in that office until his appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court in 1975. As Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Gordon presided over the impeachment trial of then-Governor Evan Mecham in 1988. In 1990, Gordon received an American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award for his efforts on behalf of the poor through his stewardship of the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Phoenix.[6]

Following Gordon's retirement from the court in 1992, United States District Judge Paul Gerhardt Rosenblatt appointed Gordon to mediate a dispute between various Native American tribes and the government of Arizona.[7] In February 1993, Gordon ruled in favor of a proposal put forth by the tribes to allow them to operate slot machine casinos in their territories.[8][7] He died on January 6, 2020 in Phoenix.[9][10]

Further reading

• From A Boy With A Horse To A Man With A Gavel: The Autobiography of Former Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon
• Arizona Judiciary Mourns Loss of Retired Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon, Jr. archived from the original.

References

1. Arizona, State Bar of (1991). Arizona Attorney. State Bar of Arizona. p. 10. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
2. AP (November 12, 1987). "Jurors in Arizona Given Green Light". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
3. https://www.azcourts.gov/meetthejustices/Judicial-History
4. Rebecca White Berch, A History of the Arizona Courts, 3 Phoenix L. Rev. 11, 33 (2010)
6. ABA Journal, Vol. 76 (September 1990), p. 104.
7. Donald Craig Mitchell, Wampum: How Indian Tribes, the Mafia, and an Inattentive Congress Invented Indian Gaming and Created a $28 Billion Gambling Empire (2016).
8. Jeff Corntassel, Richard C. Witmer, Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges to Indigenous Nationhood (2008), p. 100.
10. Davenport, Paul (9 January 2020). "Arizona impeachment trial judge Frank Gordon Jr. dies at 90". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved 9 January 2020.